Worklist integration of logical and physical tasks

ABSTRACT

In accordance with a method of managing work flow, tasks associated with a telecommunications service order from a plurality of worklists of computing source systems are merged into a merged worklist. Each computing source system maintains a respective worklist that includes a task associated with the service order. The tasks of the service order in the merged worklist are prioritized into a prioritized sequence to be completed on a work-when-ready basis. An error in completion of a task associated with a worklist of a source system is detected and a new task to correct the detected error is generated. Further, the worklist of the source system associated with the detected error is updated with the new task and the new task is integrated into a proper position of the prioritized sequence in the merged worklist in accordance with the work-when-ready basis.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/259,519 filed Oct. 26, 2005, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present invention relates to automated electronic processing andprovisioning of telecommunications products and services, andparticularly to the integration of logical and physical tasks frommultiple worklists into a single dynamic worklist.

2. Description of the Related Art

The service delivery process for telecommunications service providersrequires a sequential series of steps often performed by different workcenters or stations. The work stations may be internal to thetelecommunications service, but typically also include external sourcessuch as Local Exchange Carriers (LEC), for example, to fill a customer'sorder. In some cases, one step must be completed in order to progress tothe next. Therefore, coordination between the work stations to provisiona placed order is typically accomplished using a “work-when-scheduled”logic flow: setting a standard work schedule, with static dates ofcompletion for each task, based on an original estimated time ofcompletion. In other words, the order does not progress to a subsequenttask until the scheduled date, regardless of the lapse in time that mayoccur between the completion of one task and the start of the next task.

Though this procedure generally allows successful sequential passing ofthe order from one workstation to the next, it presents severaldisadvantages. For one, there is no flexibility to complete an order inadvance of schedule, and if a task is not timely completed, manualadjustments to the work schedule must then be made. Therefore, theprocess is extremely inefficient.

With the advent of electronic documents and Internet-based orderingforms, it has been possible to significantly reduce the amount of humaninteraction and improve efficiency at least in the ordering process fornumerous types of products and services, including telecommunications.In addition, maintaining work schedules in a computer databaseaccessible via the Internet allows more flexibility in provisioning eachorder, i.e., in supplying the services associated with each order, andin adjusting the scheduled dates of completion should problems arise.

However, due to the historical evolution of the telecommunicationsindustry from a single type of service and one service provider to amultitude of different service providers and services available, therewill typically be several different work schedules which must bemonitored for successful completion of an order for a particularservice, i.e., for a service order. Furthermore, each work schedule maybe prepared and maintained using a different computer application, whichis typically a legacy application inherited from languages, platforms,and techniques that may not be current with existing technology. Withnew types of services continually emerging due to the rapid growth oftelecommunications technology, the complexity in layering the newtechnology over the old is ever increasing. Consequently, the processfor provisioning orders for these newer services has likewise grown incomplexity.

One example of a more recent telecommunications service being offered ismanaged router service, which may interface with, for example, anasynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network. The router itself can beeither a hardware device or a software application that routes a datapacket on a corporation's Virtual Private Network (VPN) Intranet, forexample. The data packet may contain voice-over Internet Protocol (IP),as well as data such as point of sale information, and credit cardauthorization data. Therefore, in provisioning an order for managedrouter service to a commercial customer, the retailer providing theservice must typically coordinate between work centers to provide theATM network, the IP telephony services, and integrate traditionaltransport circuits to connect between switching offices or serviceproviders (Long Distance Providers (LDPs) and LECs) as needed.

Each work center providing these services generates and maintains itsown worklist of tasks on a native application. Coordinating between thedifferent work centers and users trying to complete the various tasks ineach work center is a difficult task.

One conventional approach to dealing with the increasing complexity inprovisioning such new services, is to replace the several legacyapplications required to provision each type of new service with anentirely new application that integrates the various required services.Though this approach solves the problem of integrating severalapplications, it is costly and inefficient. In addition, a newapplication may have to be developed to accommodate each new emergingservice. Finally, the development of one new work-when-scheduledapplication does not, in itself, solve the problem of how to interfacebetween different service providers, or how to efficiently layer the newtechnology over the old in order to improve the work flow of theprovisioning process.

There is a particular need, therefore, which is not provided for in theprior art, to provide a process for improving the work flow of a servicedelivery ordering and provisioning process, which requires coordinationof completion of tasks between multiple worklists, particularly for useby telecommunications products and service providers.

SUMMARY

The present invention, which addresses the needs of the prior art,provides an efficient method for improving the work flow of a servicedelivery ordering and provisioning process, particularly for use bytelecommunications products and service providers. In particular, amethod is provided to electronically coordinate the provisioning processbetween different work stations running different applications, often ondifferent platforms. The method includes integrating both logical andphysical tasks from multiple worklists into a single active worklist.Therefore, the method also eliminates the need for a user (someoneworking to provision a service order) to log on to different systems tomanually prioritize his tasks.

In particular, the invention provides a method of managing work flow inprovisioning a plurality of service orders, where each service orderincludes tasks to be provisioned, the tasks being associated with aplurality of worklists from different sources. Each worklist includestasks to be completed in provisioning various service orders. The methodincludes merging the plurality of worklists and prioritizing tasks inthe merged worklist in accordance with a work-when-ready work flow.

In one embodiment, an end-to-end view of all pending tasks forprovisioning each service order, or some portion thereof, may bedisplayed on a graphical user interface. A link is provided for eachdisplayed task to the source generating the task.

The method also includes detecting errors in completion of tasks andgenerating new tasks correcting the detected errors to be updated in theworklists as needed and integrated in the merged worklist in order tofacilitate completion of the tasks in the merged worklist.

The method may also include detecting a change of status of a task inone of the plurality of worklists, and automatically updating the mergedworklist and the native worklist associated with the task in response tosaid detecting to reflect the detected change of status of the task.

For example, when completion of a task is detected, the merged activeworklist and the native worklist from which the task originated areautomatically updated by deleting the task from the merged worklist andthe native worklist.

The method may also include searching the plurality of worklists inaccordance with selected search criteria, and outputting a portion ofthe merged worklist to one of a graphical user interface and a file anda hardcopy in accordance with the selected search criteria.

The present invention also provides a system for managing work flowassociated with provisioning a plurality of service orders andcompleting the tasks associated with the corresponding service orders.Each service order includes tasks associated with a plurality ofworklists from different sources, and the plurality of worklists includetasks to be completed in provisioning a corresponding service order. Thesystem may include a processing device, and a clock for tracking thetiming of the tasks. The processor integrates the tasks from theplurality of worklists into an active worklist, and may track and managethe timing of the tasks on a work-when-ready basis. The active worklistprovides an end-to-end view of the corresponding service order. Adisplay is also included for displaying at least a portion of theend-to-end view. The system further includes a computer-readable storagemedium for storing the active worklist, which is updated by theprocessor in response to a change in status of any one of the tasks fromthe plurality of worklists.

As a result, the present invention provides a system and method forelectronically coordinating the provisioning process of service ordersbetween different work stations running different applications and/or ondifferent platforms, and managing the work flow on a work-when-readybasis. If one task finishes ahead of schedule, the next is automaticallyscheduled to avoid delay in the provisioning process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system utilizing a prior art method ofmanually provisioning a service order.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system utilizing an embodiment ofthe method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the systemutilizing a method in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

There has been a recent trend in the telecommunications industry towardautomating a significant portion of work involved in provisioning ordersthat have been placed. In the provisioning of more complex orders foremerging services, such as Voice-over Internet Protocol (IP), which arelayered (at Layer 3, for example) over existing traditional serviceslike ATM or frame relay at a Layer 2 and private lines such as T1 linesat Layer 1, such automation requires the integration of tasks generatedon multiple worklists running on different sources, e.g., from differentcomputer systems. The present invention provides a method for managingworkflow in provisioning a service order by seamlessly integratingworklists from a plurality of existing sources generating the worklistsinto a single active worklist.

The traditional “work-when-scheduled” workflows may still be maintainedon systems for some of the older technologies, for example, private line(T1) and frame relay service. These are typically maintained on separatesystems using UNIX-type Cron Jobs, Java, and/or Perl Scripts. On theother hand, systems managing tasks for the emerging services, such asvoice-over IP and managed router systems may utilize newer commercialoff-the-shelf applications to control work flow.

As is well-known to those skilled in the art, Cron jobs are tasksscheduled to run at a scheduled time, and are located and initiated by a“Cron daemon,” a background script which can run on UNIX, Linux or otheroperating systems, as is well-known to those skilled in the art. Perland Java are both script programming languages with unique advantages.Perl offers a number of popular text manipulation capabilities, can becompiled to C-code before execution and interfaces well with UNIX-typeoperating systems. Java is a particularly useful script languageespecially known for offering easy interaction with Internet-basedapplications, such as Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) source code,especially for adding dynamic content.

According to the method of the present invention, all tasks required tocomplete a plurality of service orders are merged into the activeworklist. The active worklist provides, therefore, an integratedend-to-end view of all tasks, presented in the required sequential orderof completion, necessary to provision a particular service order.Therefore, the active worklist is used to manage the timing of the tasksfrom the various sources generating the various worklists, often fromdifferent computer operating systems and platforms, to provide awork-when-ready work flow for each order. When a change of status occursto any task, the active worklist is automatically updated along with thenative worklist in which the task was generated. If the status of a taskchanges to completed, the task is removed from the active worklist, andpreferably also from the native worklist. The user responsible forcompleting the next task in the provisioning sequence is put on noticethat the next task is ready for his or her attention. The activeworklist, therefore, is a useful tool for converting from theconventional “work-when-scheduled” logic to the more efficient“work-when-ready” flow.

In another aspect of the present invention, the active worklisteliminates the need for a user to manually check a number of passiveworklists in order to prioritize his tasks or view the status of pendingtasks. The user may be, for example, a telecommunications engineer,sales administrator, manager, or other telecommunications worker. Theactive worklist allows the user to selectively view tasks from thevarious worklists on one graphical user interface (GUI) corresponding toan identifier, such as a username or log in identification (ID), i.e.,an alphanumeric identifier, or to other selective search criteria.

The method of the present invention is preferably implemented in asystem operating an electronic factory, which adopts the methodologybehind the traditional assembly line in which an item is first placed onthe assembly line for processing. In analogy with a traditional factory,the item moves down the assembly line, stopping at each workstationalong the line. Each workstation is manned by particularly skilledworkers who perform one particular task in the process. Upon completionof one task at a workstation, the partially completed item progresses tothe next workstation, while another follows in its stead. The efficiencyof the assembly line rests in the fact that the tasks are divided up tobe performed by those experienced in that particular task.

Similarly, in an electronic factory, an item or order is placed in aqueue, usually by manually inputting required information into aninternal ordering system via an electronic form on a computer terminal.The order is then processed by dividing it into a series of tasks,analogous to assembly line workstations, which must be completed inorder to process and provision the order. Each of the tasks must becompleted before proceeding to the next station. In the case oftelecommunications service providers, coordination between several stepsor tasks is required to fill a customer's order. In addition, the tasksare not necessarily all performed by the same entity, usually requiringinterfacing and the passing of relevant information between varioustechnology work centers, and usually between at least a service providerand a Local Exchange Carrier (LEC). Therefore, coordination between thevarious work centers and tracking of the order's progress is preferablyaccomplished by electronic means. In addition, system automation maycomplete many tasks, so that a telecommunications engineer is onlynotified of failures or exceptions. The engineer preferably fixes theproblem and reinserts the order into the automated work flow. Adescription of such a system and method of automation and exceptionhandling is provided in a co-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/215,277 filed on Aug. 30, 2005 by Aboujaoude, et al., which isincorporated herein by reference.

The method of the present invention provides a user of the system, i.e.,a worker participating in the provisioning of the order, the ability totrack the order's progress through the active integrated worklist, whichcan be viewed on a single graphical interface. The method additionallyallows the user to easily toggle back and forth between a nativeworklist and a GUI displaying select portions of the active worklist.

FIG. 1 is provided by way of background to exemplify the conventionalmethod and system used to provision a complex service order. A user 10interacts with a computer system via a local computer workstation 12 tomonitor the progress of an order and to search for tasks needed to becompleted. One worklist is maintained on System 1 14 at Workcenter 1,another is maintained on System 2 16 at Workcenter 2, and so on, up toSystem X 18 at Workcenter X. Each worklist is a passive worklist, sothat the user 10 has to access each one individually to search for workor to inquire about the status of a particular task. Though the variousworklists may all be able to be opened at once on the user's workstationvia an Internet connection, they are maintained on different graphicaluser interfaces, and are not interactive. Further, no “master list” oftasks exists. Therefore, users need to access several different systemsand worklists to accomplish their assigned tasks and to view theprogress of an order. The user must manually synthesize the informationon the various worklists to determine the sequence of tasks he or shemust complete. In addition, end-to-end measurements of the time intervalbetween the time a Sales Administrator provided a quote to the time thefirst bill was issued are not possible.

Referring to FIG. 2, a system 20 implementing the method of the presentinvention for improving the work flow in provisioning service ordersincludes an Active Worklist Integration Manager 22, which imports tasksfrom each worklist maintained on storage media on each system, forexample, on System 1 24, System 2 26, and on a last System X 28. TheIntegration Manager 22 provides the active worklist, and tracks andmanages the timing of the various tasks on a work-when-ready basis. Theactive worklist is preferably stored in a central database oncomputer-readable storage medium or media 29, which is constantlyupdated as the status of the tasks change. All of the imported tasks inthe active worklist may be displayed at any time on a single GUI to showan end-to-end view of each service order. Alternatively, a portion ofthe active worklist may be viewed according to selected search criteria.

As shown in FIG. 2, a user logs into one system that compiles and tracksan integrated active worklist. The selected search criteria as well assorting fields are preferably selected from an on screen menu, forexample, a pull-down menu, accessible to the user, or by keyboard input,or by any other well-known means by which input parameters may beselected by a user for access by a set of executable instructions. Thesystem actively searches all Systems 24 through 28 for the selectedsearch criteria, for example, for the user's assigned Tasks, andrecompiles and updates the active worklist. The retrieved part of theactive worklist corresponding to the selected search criteria is sortedaccording to the user-selected fields for screen and/or hardcopy and/orfile output. Sorting fields may include, for example, dates, customers,and/or circuits. Therefore, the system of the present inventioneliminates the need for manual tracking and scheduling of the tasks. Alltasks are presented when they are needed to the user in a logical flow,and status of tasks and orders can be presented as a single view acrossall of the systems generating the various worklists.

Referring also to FIG. 3, preferably, a search of each database forpending tasks is performed on each system to generate the activeworklist at any one time. The search is preferably performed byinitiating a series of executable instructions performed by a programmedmicroprocessor on the so-called originating system 30 by any means knownto those skilled in the art. The originating system 30 preferablyaccesses call procedures from native or local databases stored on anycomputer readable storage medium or media local to each of the systems24 through 28. The call procedures are then used to select and port therelevant data sorted by the selected search criteria to the originatingsystem 30. Each call procedure is tailored to the particular system inwhich it is stored. Therefore, the active worklist and displayed portionthereof can be generated from a conglomeration of different applicationsrunning on different platforms.

Referring still to FIG. 3, in one particular embodiment, a UNIX/Javabased ordering system is used on one system 32 to schedule tasks formore traditional services such as frame relay or ATM service. A secondsystem 34 uses a more current commercial workflow application forprovisioning voice-over IP and managed router systems and services. Athird system 36 provides a main frame-based provisioning application forT1, and a fourth 38 provides a UNIX/Java application for voice-over IPand managed router services. All of the tasks and associated data aremerged into one active worklist by the Active Integrated WorklistManager 22 according to the system and method of the present invention.The active worklist is then available for selective searching anddisplay on a single GUI by a user 10 logging into the system.

Referring also to FIG. 2, the system 20 also preferably includes anexception handler processing module 40 for detecting and managing errorsor exceptions with a minimum of human intervention. The exceptionhandler generates new tasks in each worklist as needed to correct thedetected exceptions, as described by Aboujaoude, et al. in patentapplication Ser. No. 11/215,277. These new tasks are also merged,therefore, into the active worklist. The active worklist can beselectively searched to display all tasks from all worklists generatedby the exception handler on one GUI.

In addition, the system preferably includes a clock which is started,for example, upon creation of the new corrective task. If a period oftime elapses without the corrective action being completed, an alarm orwarning is automatically generated. The warning can be automaticallydisplayed on the integrated worklist and also mailed to an overseer ormanager of the associated task, or to the supervisor of the workerassigned to completion of the corrective task.

The clock is also used to track the time interval between the completionof each task in the end-to-end view. Therefore, overdue tasks can beidentified, for example, by selectively searching the active worklistfor tasks pending for a period greater than a selected time interval.

According to the method of the present invention, the tasks arepreferably presented in the active worklist in the order that theyshould be completed and assigned to the correct person to perform thetask. The entire active worklist can then be searched according toselective search criteria, and sorted by selected sorting fields forviewing in a graphical user interface or outputting to a file, forexample, to one of the off-the-shelf spread sheets known to thoseskilled in the art, or printing device. The available sorting fieldsinclude, but are not limited to, Customer (identified typically by nameand Customer ID), order due date, task due date, and a user, e.g., oneassigned to tasks, to aid in prioritizing work.

For example, the user can select all tasks for viewing which are markedas requiring the user's attention. In other words, the selected searchcriteria would include the user's name or ID. The user can thenselectively access one of the tasks to work on from the displayedportion of the active worklist. In response to selectively accessing thetask (by clicking on the task icon, e.g., or by other means known tothose skilled in the art), the appropriate native system screen isinvoked from the active worklist. The work, if it is logical work to becompleted electronically on the computer operating system, is thencompleted by the user in the native environment. If the work is physical(manual) work, the user is granted access to manually change the statusof the task when it has been completed by appropriate input to thenative worklist. The system searches each native environment to detectthe tasks that have been completed in real-time, and in response,removes the task from the active worklist, and preferably also from thenative worklist displayed. Tasks that have been manually cancelled areconsidered completed and are also removed from the active and nativeworklists. Therefore, if an entire service order is cancelled, all tasksassociated with the cancelled service order are cancelled, i.e.,“completed,” and removed from the worklists.

The merged view of tasks offered via the active worklist not onlyencompasses all the tasks, therefore, but also the status of each task.In another embodiment, a Telecom Engineer can view status of tasks for aparticular premise. For example, the premise may require both a T1,Frame Relay or ATM port and a managed router. The active integratedworklist may be searched for the particular premise, and the status ofthe T1, Frame Relay/ATM port, and the managed router are then displayedin a combined view.

The method of the present invention further includes managing the timingof the tasks from various systems by actively searching the worklists onother systems for tasks that either have been generated or need to begenerated based on a processing of exceptions or errors. Therefore, whena new task is generated to correct an error detected by an exceptionhandling processor, the active worklist integration manager orchestratesthe insertion of the new task in the proper position in the work flowusing the end-to-end view of the active worklist. In other words, thenew task is inserted according to a prioritized sequence that allowstasks to be completed according to any required sequential order ofcompletion.

This use of the active worklist to provide a dynamically changingend-to-end view of the service delivery process advantageously enablestasks to be completed in faster succession, allows faster servicedelivery timeframe, and reduces cost. In addition, the status of aservice delivery order can be tracked from the time Sales provided thequote to the customer, to the time service is delivered, and finally, tothe time the Customer's bill is issued.

Preferably, the method for managing the work flow of the presentinvention also includes maintaining a log of all records of tasksgenerated and completed over a predetermined period of time. The logalso preferably includes any errors or exceptions that occurred, alongwith the required correction. In this way, problematic areas in theprovisioning process can be identified.

In another embodiment of the present method of managing work flow inprovisioning services, the efficiency of a worker (user) is able to betracked in one centralized place using the active worklist. For example,a manager having the authorization to view tasks assigned to workersunder his or her supervision selects the search criteria for displayfrom the active worklist, according to a user's ID, to view the volumeof work assigned to the user at any given time. Alternatively, thesearch criteria can include a group name or ID assigned to all usersunder the manager's supervision, so that the work load of all users inthat group can be compared. Finally, the log of tasks can be searchedfor all tasks assigned and completed by a particular user over a periodof time to analyze the user's efficiency. Again, this can be performedon all users within a group to obtain a comparison between the workersefficiency rates.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that any of theinformation available from the active worklist can be used to generate areport and/or plot, such as the efficiency report discussed above, bothon an on-screen GUI define somewhere as graphical user interface and ina hardcopy. Therefore, reports, plots and/or graphs may be generated toshow, for example, the following: a number of exceptions occurring atregularly scheduled intervals over some time-period; the efficiency ofvarious work centers, users, and groups; an increase or decrease inorders for a particular service; recurrence of particular hardwarefailures causing exceptions; and bottlenecks or trouble spots in thework flow in general.

In one embodiment, the active worklist for display is generated by anoriginating application on a system to which a user is logged on. Theoriginating application calls a procedure stored in a database on atarget system, which determines the worklist items or tasks from thetarget system to display on the originating system according touser-selectable search criteria. If the stored procedure were notinvoked by the originating system, a user would have to monitor oneworklist on the originating system and one on the target system.

Once the worklist items are displayed from the active worklist on oneGUI on the originating system, the user can click on a link on thedisplayed worklist to invoke the corresponding task on the targetapplication and to open the task in its native environment (targetsystem). The user then completes the work in the native environment.Once completed, the target application preferably notifies theoriginating application automatically. In response, the originatingapplication removes the task from the active worklist and from theuser's screen, and preferably also from the target application.

For example, the stored procedure may be invoked from a Managed Servicesworklist screen, which displays tasks for provisioning managed routersand voice-over IP service. The stored procedure may be used to displayany items including orders or tasks from the active worklist associatedwith search criteria input or selected by the user. The search criteriamay include, for example, any of the following: login ID or otheridentifier of a user assigned to task; category of work; job levelrequired to complete task; office/work center generating task; circuittype; customer name; order number; logged-in user ID; and name ofservice request.

An input parameter, for example, a login ID and preferably also apassword, is used to apply access control to the active worklistdatabase. This protective measure may be used, for example, to assurethat only authorized users can view government market or otherrestrictive orders. Optionally, some other method of authorizationcontrol may be used in combination with the login and password to accesscertain orders, such as biometric input, including fingerprint scans.

Any of a number of parameters associated with the selective criteria maythen be chosen for display in a GUI, and/or output to a report. Forexample, if a user chooses exceptions/errors as a sorting output field,and searches for a particular Customer number using the storedprocedure, a listing is obtained of all outstanding exceptions that haveoccurred for service delivery orders for the selected Customer number.The exceptions are preferably further classified according to type inthe stored database, so that they can be further categorized and sorted.Other selectable output fields include, but are not limited to: worklist(service) type; exception (e.g., fallout) type; date task entered;status; service order ID; order or customer number; product category;workcenter; name of LEC installing circuit; and scheduled date ofcompletion.

The steps defining the method of the present invention are preferablyperformed by a programmed microprocessor executing instructions storedin or on a computer readable storage medium. One of ordinary skill inthis art will recognize that such steps or functions are independent ofthe particular type of instruction set, storage medium, ormicroprocessor and may be performed by software, hardware, integratedcircuits, firmware, microcode, and the like, or by any combinationthereof.

Computer readable storage media referred to herein for storingprocedures and databases associated with the active worklist may includevarious types of volatile and non-volatile storage media including butnot limited to random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM),programmable read-only memory (PROM), electrically programmableread-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable read-only memory(EEPROM), flash memory, magnetic tape or disk, optical media, and thelike.

Though the system and method of the present invention are describedherein with reference to the provisioning of telecommunicationsservices, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that theinvention is not limited thereto. The present invention is applicable toany application that would benefit from the dynamic merging of multipleworklists into one active worklist.

Although illustrative embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is tobe understood that the invention is not limited to those preciseembodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may beeffected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from thescope or spirit of the invention.

1. A method of managing work flow, the method comprising: merging tasksassociated with a telecommunications service order from a plurality ofworklists of computing source systems into a merged worklist, eachcomputing source system maintaining a respective worklist that includesa task associated with the service order; prioritizing the tasks of theservice order in the merged worklist into a prioritized sequence to becompleted on a work-when-ready basis; detecting an error in completionof a task associated with a worklist of a computing source system;generating a new task to correct the detected error; updating theworklist of the computing source system associated with the detectederror with the new task; and integrating the new task into a properposition of the prioritized sequence in the merged worklist tofacilitate completion of the tasks in the prioritized sequence inaccordance with the work-when-ready basis.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising: detecting a change of status of a task in one of theplurality of worklists; and automatically updating the merged worklistand the one of the plurality of worklists in response to said detectingto reflect the detected change of status of the task.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein said detecting step comprises detecting completion ofthe task, and said automatically updating comprises deleting the taskfrom the merged worklist and from the one of the plurality of worklistsin response to said detecting completion of the task.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising searching the plurality of worklists inaccordance with selected search criteria, and outputting a portion ofthe merged worklist to one of a single graphical user interface and afile and a hardcopy in accordance with the selected search criteria. 5.The method of claim 4, wherein the selected search criteria comprise oneof a user identifier, a category of work, a job level, a sourcegenerating one of the plurality of worklists, a service type, and acustomer name or identifier.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein theselected search criteria comprises the user identifier, said outputtingcomprising outputting and prioritizing all tasks assigned to the user.7. The method of claim 5, further comprising sorting the output portionof the merged worklist by at least one of a selected field.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the at least one of the selected fieldcomprises a due date, a date entered, a customer identifier, a serviceorder type, a status identifier, a product category, and an exceptiontype.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein said merging comprises callingprocedures stored on the different computing source systems to searchthe plurality of worklists for pending tasks.
 10. The method of claim 1,further comprising providing a link associated with a displayed task,the link linking the associated task to a computing source system thatgenerated the task.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprisingdisplaying an end-to-end view of all pending tasks required to provisionthe corresponding service order.
 12. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: allowing a user to log onto an originating system on whichthe merged worklist is accessed; user-initiated searching of the mergedworklist according to selected search criteria; displaying a portion ofthe merged worklist corresponding to the selected search criteria on agraphical user interface; and providing a link on the graphical userinterface for a displayed task to a computing source system thatgenerated the displayed task.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein theselected search criteria comprises a user identifier comprising anidentification number or alphanumeric associated with the user, themethod further comprising: user-accessing the computing source systemthrough the provided link; user-completing the displayed task on thecomputing source system, wherein the displayed task is a logical task;and automatically deleting the displayed task from the merged worklistin response to said user-completing.
 14. The method of claim 12, whereinthe selected search criteria comprises a user identifier associated withthe user, the method further comprising: user-accessing the computingsource system through the provided link; user-completing the displayedtask manually, wherein the displayed task is a physical task;user-changing a status of the displayed task manually on the one of theplurality of worklists on the computing source system to completed; andautomatically deleting the displayed task from the merged worklist inresponse to said user-changing the status to completed.
 15. The methodof claim 1, further comprising associating the new task with anappropriate user for completing the new task.
 16. The method of claim12, wherein the user is a manager of a group of workers, and wherein theselected search criteria comprises a group identifier associated withthe group of workers, the method further comprising sorting thedisplayed portion of the merged worklist by an alphanumeric identifierassociated with each worker in the group.
 17. The method of claim 1,further comprising: allowing a user to log on to a system for accessingthe merged worklist by inputting at least one of an identifier and apassword; and limiting access to particular tasks associated withparticular service orders in the merged worklist according to the atleast one of the user identifier and password.
 18. The method of claim17, wherein the identifier comprises at least one of a biometricidentifier and an alphanumeric identifier.
 19. A system to manage workflow associated with a telecommunications service order that includestasks from a plurality of worklists of computing source systems, eachcomputing source system maintaining a respective worklist that includesa task associated with the service order, the system comprising: aprocessing device comprising: a worklist manager to merge the tasksassociated with the service order from the worklists of the computingsource systems into a merged worklist, and prioritize the tasks of theservice order into a prioritized sequence to be completed on awork-when-ready basis; a computer-readable storage medium to store themerged worklist; and an exception handler to detect an error incompletion of a task associated with a worklist of a computing sourcesystem, generate a new task to correct the detected error, update theworklist of the computing source system associated with the detectederror with the new task; and integrate the new task into a properposition of the prioritized sequence in the merged worklist tofacilitate completion of the tasks in the prioritized sequence inaccordance with the work-when-ready basis.
 20. The system of claim 19,wherein the plurality of computing source systems includes at least oneprovisioning system associated with at least one of network-relatedservices, voice over IP (VoIP)-related services, and mainframe-relatedservices.